Flood Safety Tips | How to Stay Safe in a Flood
If you want to find out how to stay safe during & after a flood, you came to the right place! Find out more about flood safety tips in this post…
If you know about floods, whether you saw my last post, or just have an interest in them, you know how dangerous they are. How a few feet of water can easily sweep a building off its foundation, or how water, in just one cubic foot, is over 62 pounds. This common weather disaster needs to be taken seriously, and people need to know how to stay safe in the case of one. In this post, you will learn more about flood safety tips and how to be prepared for a flood.
This post is all about flood safety.
Before the Flood
People need to have flood awareness and know the warning signs. One early warning sign is pretty obvious, heavy rain. Heavy rain exceeds 2 inches an hour, which is definitely enough for a flood to occur in a flood-prone area. If you know heavy rain is coming, keep an eye out for a flood. Another obvious sign to look out for is a flood watch or warning issued by the NWS. If you are under a watch, be aware of the future weather. If it is a warning, be sure to listen for any more updates on the flood and if you see one outside, get to high ground safely.
There are also some immediate warning signs, which occur only a minute or two before the flood hits. A roar is an example of an immediate flood because if you hear this and don’t see any other things that can cause it, get to higher ground IMMEDIATELY. This can be many things so pause for a second before you know it is a flood. If it is a flood, this can be just because of the racing water, a dam breaking, or anything like that. That is the first section of flood safety tips. The next section will be on flood preparedness & flood safety kits.
If the authorities say that there is a chance for a flood, get rid of the loose objects around your house. If you choose to evacuate, then bring items that you need and get out of the area quickly.
During the Flood
“Turn Around, Don’t Drown!”
“Turn Around, Don’t Drown!” is a phrase that the NWS uses frequently in flash flood warnings & on their website. It is meant to tell the public that you should NEVER drive into a flooded area. Another thing that the NWS also says a lot is how just six inches of flowing water can drag and carry away your car. NEVER go into the water no matter how fast it is going or how deep it looks, even on foot. Just stay on high ground and that will probably be better. If you can not get to any form of high ground, go into a non-flooded building and put yourself on top of something. Put as many walls in between you and the flood (kinda like a tornado).
Stay Informed & Listen
During the event of a flood, you always hear that you should stay informed with NWS alerts. This is very helpful to know what is happening, what is going to happen, and much more like that. One of the ways you can stay tuned into the NWS is by weather radio. The weather radio will give you updates about things like warnings and help. If they tell you to do something, and it is a safe option for you, DO IT. The NWS might tell you to not walk in the water or to not drive, and their advice is to keep you safe. So remember, when the flood happens, stay tuned. If you know there is a flood risk earlier in the day, you can look at your local NWS’s social media and they might tell you some things.
After the Flood
After the flood, be very careful of where you step. Do not step on nails and stay very far away from downed power lines in water. Still, stay away from the flood waters and do not consume anything that may have touched the flood waters. Since the floodwaters are very dirty, if you had any contact with them, make sure to thoroughly clean the part of your body that got in contact with the floodwaters. Go to the authorities and ask them what to do. If you want to, you can help with the search and rescue effort if there is one present. Also, tell them about any downed power lines or anything that could be a hazard. Also, do not do anything that you aren’t comfortable doing except if it is for your safety.
